OK, I've been lurking for long enough - it's time to stick my head above the parapet and see if I get shot.

Does anyone like this?[attachment=1041:attachment][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=80385\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Yes. I like it. The foreground tree's asymmetry would spoil it if there were nothing else there, but the road together with the tree in the background fill in the foreground tree's empty part nicely. The foggy atmosphere is captured well, too.

I like it very much, in particular the unusual viewing angle keeps it fresh and the melancholy empty road seems to be well reflected by the damp air and drooping branch. I'd also be tempted to try a monochrome version.

I usually like a soft & gentle color palette like you show us here, but in this instance I wouldn't say the colors are what make the image work: they're the colors of nature, but they don't harmonize in any especially 'musical' way. If you convert to monochrome you can use curves to play more with the highlights & perhaps get a real highlight glow.

I recently did some landscape work on the coast-to-coast walk in Britain & found that the color versions, while more descriptive of where I was, failed to convey as successfully the soft & glowing atmosphere of the Cumbrian mountains & Yorkshire moors on hazy days. When I converted to BW, & my critique group much preferred that set of prints.

This image works well for me. It is a soft, subtle image with good composition and elements. I find that there is an air of mystery that invites me to explore the image.

I played with a B&W rendition, but it always comes out looking flat and lacks the atmosphere of the color version.[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thank you all very much for your comments! I'm particularly interested in the idea that it would look better in B&W. I am a great fan of monochrome, and didn't move to colour until fairly late. However, like gvdavewh, I tried to make a B&W version of this photo and I couldn't get anything that worked, but I am a novice PS2 user and I confess I don't really understand how to use Curves. I found I preferred the pale, slightly washed-out colours, which seeemed to emphasize the mistiness.

I have made the original RAW file available for download: it's at [a href=\"http://homepage.ntlworld.com/kikashi/]http://homepage.ntlworld.com/kikashi/[/url] in the file CardouTree.CR2. If anyone has the time or the inclination to spend a few minutes producing a monochrome version that works, I'd be very grateful. Needless to say, I'd be just as interested in how it was done as in the final result!

...I tried to make a B&W version of this photo and I couldn't get anything that worked, but I am a novice PS2 user and I confess I don't really understand how to use Curves. I found I preferred the pale, slightly washed-out colours, which seeemed to emphasize the mistiness....[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=80747\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hi Kikashi. Don't be discouraged by your experiments. Eventually it will all come together. I spent a few minutes in Lightroom B4 with your file and decided to leave you with this. It accents the nearfield tree without losing the subtle distinctions in the image behind it.

Download LR and start learning to use it. You'll soon be amazed with what you can do.

...I tried to make a B&W version of this photo and I couldn't get anything that worked, but I am a novice PS2 user and I confess I don't really understand how to use Curves. I found I preferred the pale, slightly washed-out colours, which seeemed to emphasize the mistiness....[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=80747\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hi Kikashi. Don't be discouraged by your experiments. Eventually it will all come together. I spent a few minutes in Lightroom B4 with your file and decided to leave you with this. It accents the nearfield tree without losing the subtle distinctions in the image behind it.

Download LR and start learning to use it. You'll soon be amazed with what you can do.

...I tried to make a B&W version of this photo and I couldn't get anything that worked, but I am a novice PS2 user and I confess I don't really understand how to use Curves. I found I preferred the pale, slightly washed-out colours, which seeemed to emphasize the mistiness....[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=80747\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hi Kikashi. Don't be discouraged by your experiments. Eventually it will all come together. I spent a few minutes in Lightroom B4 with your file and decided to leave you with this. It accents the nearfield tree without losing the subtle distinctions in the image behind it.

Download LR and start learning to use it. You'll soon be amazed with what you can do.

...I tried to make a B&W version of this photo and I couldn't get anything that worked, but I am a novice PS2 user and I confess I don't really understand how to use Curves. I found I preferred the pale, slightly washed-out colours, which seeemed to emphasize the mistiness....[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=80747\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hi Kikashi. Don't be discouraged by your experiments. Eventually it will all come together. I spent a few minutes in Lightroom B4 with your file and decided to leave you with this. It accents the nearfield tree without losing the subtle distinctions in the image behind it.

Download LR and start learning to use it. You'll soon be amazed with what you can do.

Thanks for your efforts, which I do appreciate. However, I have to confess that neither of the b&w versions (I prefer Jonathan's - sorry, Fred) does anything for me. They give me the impression of being either washed-out at the top or overly dark at the bottom, and in both the misty atmosphere seems to be lost.

What I don't particularly care for is the composition, though I do believe you did quite well with what you had in front of you. The road would have been better meeting the edge of the image at either the side or preferably the bottom, but not both in the corner. The low branches on the left seem disconnected from those at the top and are awkward. The right side of the frame has too much tree where it could use more mist to balance with the negative space at the left and top. The top of the tree could use just a touch less mist to enjoy some of the clarity as below.

But I do really like the color. It's subtle and restrained and lends a great sense of maturity to the scene, appropriate for the subject matter.

I find a few elements which are distracting in the composition though- where the trees on the right hand side are evident. I have made a small cropping alteration to see the difference in removing the elements of the peripheral branches. I have also cropped a bit from the bottom to re-balance the image.

The road along both edges at the bottom right doesn't bother me .

The subtlety of the fog creates quite an alluring feel.

I am undecided about the colour or Black and white versions, but have made 2 B&W versions which are a little less severe than Jonathan's suggestion.

Food for thought and further discussion.Julie[attachment=1071:attachment][attachment=1072:attachment][attachment=1073:attachment]

Actually, whilst the image is quite appealing, I happen to agree with Howie on the issue of the drooping branch, lower left.

The appeal of the image lies in its symmetry and smooth flowing forms. The lower branch on the left, drooping with its dense, clumped foliage, tends to break the symmetry in a slightly disturbing manner. We have a lobsided tree in other words. This I would consider a flaw in an otherwise generally pleasing composition.